Demon Child
by sweetgums
Summary: "Who do you think I am? You think raising an infant and likening them to my image is going to be difficult? Don't be so small-minded!" And to Yako's surprise, things turn out to be much better than she had expected. A series of drabbles about Neuro and Yako's family life.


**Chapter 1**

* * *

It all starts with the wildest declaration Yako has ever heard him say to date.

"Yako!" Neuro greets her with a cheerful smile as soon as she arrives. "Let's get married!"

And she's wholly unprepared for it.

She blinks once, twice, and then she blinks again to be completely certain that she's not, in fact, still dreaming back at home. But no. She's awake, inside the office, barely past the threshold, staring at Neuro with a bewildered expression as she grips the doorknob like a lifeline. Behind his desk, Neuro pays no heed to Yako's turmoil as he waits expectantly for a reply.

"Er, what?" Yako finally says after she recovers from the shock. It's a good thing she had finished her coffee just a few minutes ago, because it all would have gone flying otherwise. "That's... quite the declaration for so early in the morning, Neuro."

"Really?" Neuro says with his signature blank smile, his face quite literally sparkling with excitement. A quick glance towards Akane's station shows that she's just as nonplussed as Yako is. "On the contrary, I think it's quite a sound and logical suggestion!"

Of all the words that come to Yako's mind at the thought of 'Neuro' and 'marriage' in the same sentence, 'logical' is definitely not one of them.

"You're joking, aren't you?"

"Now, now, why would I joke about something like that?"

 _...He can't be serious._

"I... I think I need to sit down..."

Neuro looks on in amusement as Yako finally manages to regain proper control of her limbs, and stumbles towards the nearest couch.

They had just returned from a case in India a mere two days ago, Yako thinks wearily as she slumps down in her seat. What did she do to deserve this? Why is Neuro so against her having a single day of peace in her life!?

Obviously this is a joke; clearly she was still dreaming. In what universe, after all, would the demon Neuro do something so out of character as _proposing_? And to _her_ , of all people!?

Yako groans into her hands and sinks even further into the couch, feeling the first signs of a headache coming on. It's not even noon and she feels so incredibly tired already.

"Are you done with the theatrics, maggot?"

Yako drops her hands to her sides and glares at him incredulously.

"Neuro," she says as her eyebrow twitches wearily at his smug face, " _what on earth are you planning now?"_

Neuro finally drops his cheery façade to stand up, turning to face the window as he addresses Yako.

"Hmph. Is it really not obvious?"

"No, _definitely not._ "

Neuro lets out an insufferable laugh before he finally answers.

"It's very simple, louse," Neuro says as he addresses his reflection. "More than four years have transpired since this agency was established, am I wrong?" He pauses, seemingly measuring his words. "And a year since I have returned, as well."

The change of mood is so sudden that Yako's chaotic thought process screeches to a halt, staring, dumbfounded, at Neuro's general direction. Behind her, Akane's frantic swinging has completely stopped as well for likely similar reasons. As Neuro continues, she involuntarily edges closer to the end of the couch and listens intently.

"You've grown splendidly during the time I was gone, Yako," Neuro goes on. "You have exceeded my expectations superbly, continuing to grow even further without my assistance." Neuro shifts his position and faces away from the window. "Yes, I am completely certain; there is no one else I can call my partner but you."

Yako inhales sharply and clutches the armrest to keep herself from making any noise, overwhelmed. Despite the situation, a surge of emotions that feel like pride and happiness and gratitude quickly spring forward from Yako's chest, but she bites down all the words that are struggling to get free and blinks away the tears inexplicably stinging at her eyes. She can tell Neuro is not done yet.

"As you know, the reason why I came to this world was to satisfy my hunger. To not stay by your side would be detrimental to my purpose."

"Yes," Yako says in a carefully leveled voice, trying to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upwards. "I'm well aware, Neuro."

"But as it turns out," Neuro says as he quickly turns around to face her with another one of his awfully cheerful smiles, swiftly killing the mood. "Your level of fame has risen even more in the past year, nearly reaching status equal to that of a celebrity! You have gained quite the attention from the media for not having a romantic partner yet, have you not?"

"Er, yeah, kind of," Yako replies, bemused by the sudden change of tone. Leave it to Neuro to completely ruin an otherwise perfectly nice mood. "It's not like I'm happy with it, but that sort of thing is expected when–"

 _Wait, he doesn't mean..._

"Neuro... you're joking… are you seriously suggesting we should get married to appease all those stupid rumors?"

"Why yes! It seems unlikely that the press will leave this matter alone any time soon, given your level of fame! Not to mention they have begun to take notice of my own existence as well." His smile disappears as his features settle into a more neutral expression. "Should things remain as they are, it will bring nothing but unwanted attention."

And the demon Neuro, of course, wouldn't want something like that.

"...Well, not that any of that should be concerning me at the moment, but you hadn't told me you were worrying about that, Neuro."

"Fufu, while there is no present threat at the moment, the future is uncertain. If we were to marry, however, it'd be a completely different matter!"

As Neuro gestures his arms open in fake excitement to match his blank grin, Yako sinks into the couch once more, exhausted from the torrent of emotions she has experienced just in the last five minutes. Astonishment being the most prominent one.

It's been four years, _four whole years_ , and it seems as though the day where Yako will no longer be taken aback by Neuro's antics will never come to pass. Every time Yako is definitely sure that 'this is as crazy as Neuro is going to get', he always subverts her expectations on an even grander scale, almost like he's doing it on purpose. From being tasked with defusing a bomb, hitchhiking with a military missile, and being sent flying over 100 meters into the air without getting a single scratch, Yako thought she had seen it all. But this? How was she supposed to react to _this?_

The only thing Yako could take comfort in is the fact that her straight-man role has been the one thing constant throughout all these years.

Which is little consolation at the moment, to be honest.

"Er, really now?"

"Certainly! If we were to marry, I'd have a perfectly valid reason to be by your side at all times without raising suspicion. Not to mention that you would also acquire the romantic relationship the media expects from you!" Neuro crosses his arms, evidently satisfied with his own reasoning. "It's an incredibly efficient strategy, if nothing else."

Yako resists the urge to press her hand against her face as Neuro goes on and on about all the good publicity that would come as a result.

"It'd be an excellent way to cement even further the position of our detective agency," he says excitedly before he puts on his best dramatic expression. "'An investigator and her assistant; a relationship that was meant to be strictly professional, only to unexpectedly find romance with one another' – the general public enjoys that sort of topic, yes?"

 _This is unbelievable._

"...Neuro, have you been watching talk shows again while I'm not in the office?"

Yako only gets a blank smile in response.

"And then, of course, is the matter of our future dwelling," Neuro goes on, undeterred. "While your current run-down residence is more than enough to accommodate two people, it's hardly enough space to raise a child, Yako."

"Hey! I'll have you know that my apartment is perfectly fi– _wait."_ Yako's eyes go wide as saucers as she processes Neuro's last sentence and immediately straightens up. "What do you mean, raise a child!?"

"I mean exactly what I said, wood louse." Neuro's smile widens as he replies. "Having a child would be fundamental to completely solidify this marriage, wouldn't you think?"

Yako gapes, dumbstruck. Suddenly the concept of 'marriage' is the least ridiculous subject that's been discussed in the last few minutes. In her bewildered state, she ends up blurting the first thing that comes to mind.

"You? A family man!? I can't see it!"

"Oho," Neuro replies with a smirk. "Are you perhaps suggesting I'm not capable of such a task? Who do you think I am? You think raising an infant and likening them to my image is going to be difficult? Don't be so small-minded!"

 _Did… did that bastard just call me small-minded?_

"Wait, no, that's not my point! I mean – _what!?_ Marriage!? KIDS!? _With you!?"_ If Yako had the ability to pitch her voice any higher she was certain only bats would be able to hear her soon. "C-can you even do that!?"

She can tell Neuro is enjoying her reaction immensely. "My, Yako, so forward. Isn't it customary to ask for dinner first before having these sorts of discussions with your partner?"

 _"_ _BUT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT!"_

When Neuro mocks her with a smile, Yako sinks down into her seat in defeat, her face covered by her hands and drooping forward until her head meets her knees, groaning the whole time.

"I hate you."

"Now, now, Yako, we haven't even married yet! Let's reserve the marital fights for later, shall we?"

 _"_ _Why am still talking to you!?"_

She groans into her hands once more for a solid minute before she finally feels ready to straighten up and face Neuro.

"Are you finally done with the theatrics, maggot?" Neuro asks her for the second time that day.

Yako ignores him. "Neuro… you're really not joking, are you?"

"And why would I be? I have already explained in detail my reasoning to you, and it's a magnificent plan overall, wouldn't you say? You have no reason to refuse."

 _Ah, this is it._

"I have no interest in spending my time with anyone else other than you, Yako. So what is your answer?"

Yako can hear Akane's surprised movements somewhere behind her, and she stares up at the ceiling, exhausted, as she goes over Neuro's words. Her answer, huh? So he really wasn't joking after all… This really wasn't a dream this time.

She had never considered marriage to be a possibility, much less love. She had long since accepted that Neuro wasn't capable of such a thing – right? Just being by his side was enough. It's not like Neuro was leaving anytime soon on his own volition, anyway.

But this? To be asked for marriage and even the possibility of raising a family together? Not even in her wildest dreams had she even thought about that. And Neuro really seemed so willing to do it as well, why else would he ask? Why else would he bring up all those logical – and most certainly relevant to him, Yako knows for sure – reasons? It was entirely unexpected, yes, to the point that she now has a mild headache, but certainly not unwelcome.

The question was too sudden and out of nowhere; a life-changing decision discussed in less than ten minutes altogether, leaving her exhausted and bewildered and astonished and incredulous and even a little exasperated… but underneath all that she's not at all fazed to find that she's also a little happy. Pleasantly surprised. And even flattered, really. Because she knows him the best; how could she possibly not understand after so long? From the demon Neuro, this was as close as love confession that she was ever going to get.

And she didn't mind at all.

Because even if he would never be able to understand humans, it touches her beyond words that he's still willing to try to do so for her. The fact that Neuro has patiently waited for Yako to answer him is only further proof of this.

So she lets out one big sigh, straightens up in her seat and clears her throat, meeting Neuro's even gaze with one of her own, and takes a deep breath.

"Alright, Neuro," Yako replies solemnly, but despite her tone she can't help but flash him a small smile, warm enough to reach her eyes. "I really can't argue with that logic. Let's get married, then."

And Neuro promptly chuckles at her declaration, evidently pleased.

"I expected nothing less, Yako."

* * *

The rest of the day goes on as though absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Neuro even lets Yako go home early on the grounds that he has other matters to do so she might as well 'go home and be bored for the rest of the evening'. So she straps Akane to her phone on her way out and walks the way back home with a little skip on her step.

It's only after she jumps down on her bed, blabbering in excitement to Akane, that an alarming thought suddenly comes to her.

"Ehh? Does this mean I'm going to give birth to a demon baby!?"

* * *

 **A/N** : Around six months ago, I wrote a post on tumbr where I discussed the possibility of Karma being Neuro and Yako's child, and today I finally wrote a fic for that.

The premise is pretty simple: this fic will follow the family shenanigans of Neuro, Yako, and Karma, with absolutely no angst or drama in sight, it's happy family times for everyone involved. Since this is my "establishing" fic for this universe however, I'll be writing a couple of chapters that will serve as a prologue of how Neuro and Yako get together before Karma finally shows up. So we won't see him for a while, but don't worry, he's definitely coming.

Until the next chapter!


End file.
